Mitt's foot firmly planted in mouth.

Why can't Mitt keep his mittens out of trouble (or his feet out of his mouth)?

Another day and just more gaffes and contradictions.  This morning at his fundraiser in Israel, Mitt stumbled into two controversies.

Contradiction and Gaffe in One Fell Swoop

He spoke about how healthy Israelis were, and how the US needs to work towards achieving what Israelis have done.  But as Ezra Klein notes, almost all of that was achieved by strong government control over prices.  The Kaiser Family Foundation's 2009 ranking of nations by government spending as a percentage of overall healthcare expenditures shows that Israel's government was responsible for 60.3% (ranked 81st in the world) of all healthcare spending, while the US government was responsible for 47.7% (ranked 110th in the world).

By the way, on his three-nation trip, Mitt's been to the UK (84.1% government spending as percentage of total healthcare expenditures) and is off to Poland (72.3%).

No doubt, US conservatives are wondering why Mitt brought up Israel's health care system, when it makes the US' heavily privatized system look terrible.

A Factually-Challenged and Racist Gaffe

In the same breakfast fundraiser, Mitt also spoke to the economic differences between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that, "As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality."

How he managed to get his facts wrong, I have no idea.  The difference in per-capita GDP is more like $30,000, but the greater issue is the means by which Israel utilizes strict control over border crossings between Israel and Palestinian-controlled areas, preventing Palestinians from achieving economic sustainability.  And that's without mentioning the billions the US has given to Israel -- $3.0B in 2011, to be precise.

Imagine how the Palestinian economy would look like, if it were the recipient of $3.0B for just a single year? Yes, the US does give the Palestinian Authority money -- $526M in 2011 -- but nowhere near the amounts the US spends on Israel.  Put into perspective, the US gave Israel more than 3x per person ($418) than the Palestinians ($131).

It doesn't take into account the dual-citizenship Israelis enjoy, either.  Nor does it consider the resettlement funds provided by American evangelical churches.

Importantly, Mitt failed to use the opportunity to separate the difference between areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority and that of Hamas.  If Mitt were to have ever drawn a line in the sand, it should have been between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Congressional Research Service - U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians

To Palestinians, his remarks smacked of racism, although the real issue here is, that Mitt just can't open his mouth without creating more international tension.  There is no diplomacy in Mitt's language and actions, just an egocentric projection.